Memorial Day Poppies

On this Memorial Day, I have been intrigued by the holiday's history and significance. My interested started when the Vanguard University Veterans Center wrote an article about it, so I did my own research about those who made this special day of remembrance happen. 

This poem In Flanders Fields was written by World War I Colonel John McCrae, a surgeon with Canada's First Brigade Artillery, in 1915... 

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row, 
That mark our place; and in the sky 
The larks, still bravely singing, fly.
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago 
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, 
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie 
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe: 
To you from failing hands we throw 
The torch; be yours to hold it high. 
If ye break faith with us who die 
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow 
In Flanders fields.

In response, two women - Anna E. Guerin of France and Georgia native Moina Michael worked hard to start the sale of artificial Poppies that could be given to the families who lost someone in the war. The poppy became known as the "Flower of Remembrance" and was adopted as the official memorial flower for the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. This was written by Moina Michael... 

We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.

#MemorialDay #WeRemember